


You came into my world with love so softly

by JuliaBaggins



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, But Nicky has some bad experiences, Declarations Of Love, Dubious Consent, Everything between Nicky and Joe is totally consensual and gentle, First Kiss, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Not between Nicky and Joe!!, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:09:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26393176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaBaggins/pseuds/JuliaBaggins
Summary: While Nicolò is in the army, his commanding officer does abuse his position of power, making him do things he doesn't want.With Yusuf, he later learns that he's allowed to take things at his own pace, and that both sex and love can be oh so gentle with the right person.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Nicky | Nicolo di Genova/Original Male Character
Comments: 50
Kudos: 424





	You came into my world with love so softly

**Author's Note:**

> Please be mindful of the tags! If you only want to read the scenes between Nicky and Joe, you can start when it says "5 Years Later"

A deep yawn left Nicolò’s lips as he dismounted his horse, and on the few steps towards the pole where he intended to bind the animal for the night, he twice nearly stumbled in his steps. One of the men he had shared a drink with a few days ago waved at him, but Nicolò chose to pretend not to have seen him – it had been a long day in the saddle, all under the desert sun with her unforgiving burn and too less water, and now, all that Nicolò wanted was to sink onto his thin blanket and give into the bone-deep exhaustion. He already had stretched himself out, his eyes turned towards the sky which revealed the first stars, when he heard the sound of nearing footsteps. Pretending to be asleep would have been an option, hadn’t he recognized the sound of those particular heavy steps. Nicolò suppressed a sigh, and sat up with a thin smile on his lips.

“Good evening”, he greeted the other man, around whose lips the hint of a smile was playing.

“Hello, Nicolò. How was your day?”

Had someone else asked that question, Nicolò might have laughed – how could his day possibly have been? Exactly like all the other days before, crossing the desert towards the Holy City, nothing but sand and a too bright sun for company. But with Stefano, he wasn’t sure if the other man would see the humour in the situation, so he decided to stay silent. 

“Long, exhausting”, he offered instead, before adding: “I’m tired.”

“Come for a little walk with me?”, Stefano didn’t make it sound like a question.

“I, I really would like to sleep.”

“Oh you can, _Nicolò_ ”, there was a predatory note in the way he said his name, “You can rest as much as you like, after you’ve spent just a few minutes with your commanding officer.”

Stefano’s tone of voice had turned gentle towards the end, but Nicolò didn’t miss the reminder of the other man’s position, so he got up, left the spare comfort of his blanket to follow him into the night.

They walked away from the camp, out of the light that the few campfires did cast, and behind a row of dry bushes, Stefano did stop. During the walk, none of them had said a word, but now, he turned towards Nicolò, stepped close to him, and spoke:

“I’ve missed you these past few days.”

Had he agreed, Nicolò would have been lying, so he just offered a tight-lipped smile in return. Stefano had been busy the previous evenings, busy planning on how to take the Holy City in the name of Christ together with the other officers, and so he hadn’t sought out Nicolò’s company. Until now. 

Stefano stood way in Nicolò’s personal space, and when his hands reached out, lifting the rough linen shirt that was all that Nicolò had intended to sleep in, a hungry sparkle was visible in his eyes in the low light. Nicolò went with it, raising his arms so the other man could get him out of his shirt, and then reached out to open Stefano’s pants. The man already was hard, which didn’t surprise Nicolò – he usually was already in a mood when he sought him out, or would turn so as soon as they were alone somewhere.

Nicolò looked at the other man in question, unsure what they would do tonight. Some evenings, Stefano asked him to drop to his knees, quickly took his mouth and then left; some others, he took more time, to have his body in other ways.

“Turn around”, Stefano ordered, and Nicolò followed.

The feeling of Stefano’s hands on his bare skin wasn’t exactly a pleasant one, but he had gotten used to it by now, didn’t flinch back from the touch anymore. As long as this was all that the other man asked for, Nicolò told himself as harsh fingers gripped his ass, he could take it. Way worse things could have happened, when a few weeks ago, their division had stopped at a small lake, all of the men enthusiastic to wash themselves after weeks on dry dusty roads, and when Nicolò’s eyes had wandered. He didn’t expect to be caught, not when it was just a few shy glances towards the naked bodies of his comrades, wet skin glistening in the sunlight, but somehow, his officer had seen Nicolò’s gaze. And interpreted it just right. But instead of asking for his death, which might have been expected, he kept silent about Nicolò, and asked something else of the man. Something he didn’t see himself able to refuse. 

So every few nights, Nicolò found himself offering his body to the officer, and when he now felt the press of the other man inside of him, biting his lip, he briefly wondered if with one of the other soldiers, the ones he had watched bathing, things would have been the same. If an encounter with someone who wasn’t Stefano would have left him feeling the way those nightly meetings did, or if with another person, Nicolò might have found some joy in this too. He didn’t know, never had been with someone else in such a way before, and when Stefano roughly started moving, Nicolò thought that maybe the church was right, seeing this as a sin. It surely felt anything but heavenly.

_**5 Years Later** _

The sun stood low above the horizon when the two men got off of their horses, and while Yusuf volunteered to take care of the animals, Nicolò sank to the soft grass with a huff. He started cutting the fruits they had bought in the last village into pieces, offering one to Yusuf when the other man sat next to him on the ground, and after they ate in companionable silence, Nicolò shook his head.

“I have absolutely no idea how you talked us out of that”, he offered, and then, involuntarily started to chuckle.

The tension of the last few hours fell away from Nicolò, the certainty that they’d be killed by an angry crowd only to face even more troubles when coming back to life, when instead, Yusuf, with a knife to his throat, had started telling an anecdote that Nicolò was about 90% sure _had_ to be made up, but at the end of it, the mayor, who formerly had asked for the death of the two travellers, had swung an arm around Yusuf’s shoulders and asked for another story as if they were old friends. It seemed nothing short of a miracle.

Yusuf laughed with him, his eyes crinkling in joy, before he looked right into Nicolò’s eyes and said: “I just happen to have quite a clever tongue.”

And with that, the smile left Nicolò’s lips. Yusuf’s words rang in his ears, his mouth suddenly felt as dry as the desert they had left behind a few weeks ago, and his eyes involuntarily glanced towards his companion’s lips.

Yusuf’s eyes followed his glance, his tongue darted out to lick the lips in question. And just like that, what had been months, maybe years in the making, broke loose. Like a thunderstorm that finally started after stormy clouds had darkened the horizon for hours, announcing what soon would come, all the time they had spent travelling together, the gentle touches, the lingering looks, the sleeping positions that had stopped being about mere security ages ago, all those things exploded into one moment. Nicolò reached forward, grabbing Yusuf’s face in both of his hands, and kissed him. And kissed him. And kissed him.

If Yusuf was surprised, he didn’t let it show – instead, he was quick to wrap his arms around Nicolò, one hand resting at the small of his back while the fingers of the other one gently buried in his hair, and when Nicolò’s tongue licked over his bottom lip, Yusuf opened his mouth, answering the hunger in Nicolò’s kiss with just as much passion. Their tongues met, one of Nicolò’s hands got lost in Yusuf’s curls, and they drew each other closer, even closer, until Nicolò was sitting half in Yusuf’s lap. 

While their lips still were busy getting to know each other, Yusuf’s hand left its spot on Nicolò’s back, went south until it could slip under his shirt, and when he felt the man on top of him shiver at that, Yusuf cheekily bit his bottom lip. Nicolò leaned, if physically possible, even closer, and when Yusuf could feel his friend’s interest against his thigh, he grinned into their kiss. Yusuf’s hand was gliding even further down, until he could firmly grab Nicolò’s ass, and at that, Nicolò softly gasped into their kiss, while another shiver ran through his body. Only that this time, Yusuf felt as if something might not quite be as it should.

“Nicolò?”, Yusuf asked, leaning back a bit, and when he found that those beautiful green eyes weren’t meeting his own, he found his suspicion confirmed.

Nicolò seemed utterly focused watching a spot of grass next to his knee, until Yusuf, as careful as he could, extended his hand, to gently tilt up the other’s face.

“Please, do tell me what’s wrong?”, and at hearing the worry in his voice, Nicolò finally looked up.

His eyes had captured Yusuf from the first moment he had seen them, when they were like two shards broken out of a clear summer sky, shining above him as he lay dying on the stranger’s sword. And during the years they had spent together travelling, Yusuf had not only continued to admire their beauty, tried to capture it down on paper, he also had learned to read those eyes quite well. The eyes of a man who became his friend, and then, with time, something even more precious. The eyes in which he now recognized a whirlwind of emotions – lust, insecurity, guilt, and, somewhere deep underneath, just a hint that wanted to hide itself from being seen, fear. 

Yusuf swallowed, took a deep breath, and witnessed how some of the tension finally bled out of Nicolò’s shoulders. But he didn’t relax, it was more as if he’d slump in on himself, and something painful seized inside Yusuf’s chest.

“I’m sorry”, Nicolò whispered, his teeth nervously biting the lip that Yusuf had so joyfully kissed just moments ago.

“Nico”, Yusuf sighed, “There’s no reason for you to apologize, please, none at all. I would just like it if you told me what I did to make you feel uncomfortable? Was I moving too fast, was that it?”

Nicolò’s silence was answer enough.

“Oh dear friend, I apologize. I didn’t, didn’t want to assume, I shouldn’t have-“, he trailed off, deeply unhappy with how his actions seemingly had startled Nicolò.

“Yusuf”, Nicolò’s voice was so soft when he finally spoke, while reaching out with his hand, letting it rest so close to Yusuf’s that not much more than the handle of his sword would have fit between their fingers, “It’s fine, I-“, he seemed to steady himself, “I liked the kissing, you know. I liked it so much, and I, I’ve wanted to do that for a long time already.”

“So, the kissing was good?”, Yusuf asked, and Nico nodded enthusiastically.

To Nicolò, the smile breaking out on Yusuf’s face could rival the sun coming out after a week of rain, and he was tempted to give into that smile, that warmth, but deep in the other man’s dark eyes, he still could see the questions, the worry, and he couldn’t bring himself to completely ignore those.

“The kissing was wonderful. And, when you.. touched me, I, I also liked this. But-“

“But you don’t want to go further?”

Nicolò cast his eyes down, and Yusuf finally reached out, crossed the distance between them, to be able to gently link their fingers together.

“Nicolò”, he whispered, prompting the other man to look up again, “Are you worried about this?”

The tight press of Nicolò’s lips was more than enough of an answer.

“Oh hayati”, Yusuf raised their joined hands to be able to place a kiss on the palm of Nicolò’s, “We don’t have to do anything that you don’t want, nothing at all.”

“But”, green eyes blinked in confusion, “Don’t you.. want me?”

The way in which Nicolò asked this broke something inside Yusuf’s heart.

“What I want is to see you happy. I want to make you smile, to bring you joy, however I might be able to do so. I want to kiss your sweet lips for days if you’d too find happiness in this, and, yes, I would love to get to know your body, to learn every way in which I could bring you pleasure, but, I _swear_ to you, Nicolò, I swear with my whole heart, never would I want to do something you don’t want me to do.”

For a moment, Nicolò just let those words sink in, and then, he squeezed Yusuf’s hand he still was holding.

“Kiss me again”, Nicolò said, and in his eyes, Yusuf thought he might see a new emotion. One he was scared to name just yet.

And Yusuf knew that he would have to ask more about this topic, to learn what Nicolò did want, and what not, and why that might be, but for now, he just listened. He leaned forward, placing his hand at Nicolò’s jaw, and kissed him. This kiss was different than their previous ones, for it was not fuelled by heat, by passion, but rather a gentle tenderness that Yusuf did his best to convey to Nicolò. His fingers were softly caressing the stubbles on Nicolò’s pale cheek, and he didn’t deepen the kiss, just got lost in the moment and the joy of having the one he had wished for for such a long time finally as close as Yusuf felt they always should be.

When Nicolò leaned back and broke their kiss, there was a light blush on his cheeks, and Yusuf wished he had paints with him, the most exquisite colours one could buy to capture the sheer beauty of that sight in the light of the setting sun. He debated with himself if now might be the right time to ask more, but suddenly, a yawn left Nicolò’s lips, causing Yusuf to laugh.

“You’re tired, we should head to sleep.”

For a split second, a shadow flew over Nicolò’s face.

“Just sleep?”

“Yes”, Yusuf forced his answer to be steady, to banish the emotions that wanted to break out at Nicolò’s question, at his own suspicions, out of his voice, “Yes, of course, just sleep.”

With a timid smile, Nicolò nodded, and then, a few moments later, laid down at Yusuf’s side. They had been doing this for a while already, sleeping closer to each other than two fellow soldiers typically would - as close as lovers would, as Yusuf’s brain often had reminded him. Only that they never had touched each other while laying so close – not until now. Without a word, Nicolò moved his body even closer, until his leg was touching Yusuf’s, causing a shy smile getting exchanged between the two men.

“Would you hold me?”, Nicolò asked, his voice low, and Yusuf immediately opened his arms.

Nicolò snuggled into those, placing his head on Yusuf’s shoulder while his hand rested above his heart, and when Yusuf wrapped first his blanket and then his arms around him, he let out a content sigh. 

“Good night, Yusuf”, he whispered, words already heavy with sleep.

“Sleep well, hayati”, Yusuf answered before pressing a gentle kiss on top of his head.

And when he felt Nicolò’s breath even out as he fell asleep, safely held in Yusuf’s embrace, he caught himself thinking that he never could sleep in another way again, that he wouldn’t ever find rest without this man’s body so close to his as if they were one.

Yusuf closed his eyes, his chin being softly tickled by a few stray curls of Nicolò’s hair, and he promised himself that he would seek a conversation with Nicolò soon, for he never wanted to see fear glistening in Nicolò’s eyes again born from a situation between them; for he wanted to do whatever possible to make the man by his side as comfortable as possible. But for now, he was more than happy to just hold him close, safely in his arms, while sleep took over his mind as well.

_**2 Weeks Later** _

For the first time in months, Nicolò and Yusuf found themselves with a roof over their heads to sleep, and as much as both of them had gotten used to life on the road, it was a welcome change. Especially when Nicolò, who had stretched out on one of the two slim beds, could hear the sound of rain outside of the walls – getting drenched to his bones in the saddle was an utterly unpleasant experience, as was the struggle of the horses with suddenly too muddy paths, so it really was perfect timing that just this evening, they had found an inn in a small town that offered a stable for their loyal animals and beds for the two men. Nicolò wrapped the thin blanket around his legs, fighting against the chill that the last few hours outside, when the sun already had been hidden behind thick clouds and the wind had picked up, had left in his bones, and soon after, Yusuf stepped into the room.

He carried a steaming bowl in each hand, the inviting smell causing Nicolò to peak up in curiosity, and with a warm smile, Yusuf sat down at the edge of his bed. As soon as Nicolò had sat up, he placed one of the bowls and a spoon in his hands, and then leaned over, to press a kiss to his cheek. Nicolò could feel himself blushing. It had been two weeks since his spontaneous hit of bravery had caused him to draw Yusuf in for a kiss, and ever since then, he felt like he had experienced more gentle touches, more kind words than in his whole life before. Yusuf always had been a tactile person, but now, he didn’t miss a single opportunity to wrap an arm around Nicolò’s middle, take his hand, press a kiss to his skin. And Nicolò loved it. Loved the tenderness with which Yusuf carried out these actions, and loved the absolute conviction that he felt about how Yusuf never would do anything to him that wouldn’t be fully welcome.

When they first had kissed, Nicolò had been worried – worried about what Yusuf might expect of him, worried that he wouldn’t find himself able to go with it. Worried that being used by Yusuf as Stefano had used him might taint those feelings for the other man he held deep in his heart. But none of his worries had come true. They had slept, just slept, and in Yusuf’s arms, Nicolò had felt as safe as he had done as a boy back in his parents’ house in Genova. The next morning, he had awoken to find Yusuf looking at him, a subtle smile playing around his lips, and once the other noticed that Nicolò had awoken, he had pressed a butterfly-light kiss to the tip of his nose. At which Nicolò had found himself giggling, before leaning in for a proper kiss. Breakfast had been a silent affair, as it usually was, for Yusuf wasn’t as talkative in the mornings as he became during the days, but after that, Nicolò had gathered himself, and decided that the time had come to tell Yusuf why he had hesitated when it came to anything more than kissing.

Yusuf had listened to his story, not interrupting him once when Nicolò went through what had happened in short, emotionless sentences. Told him about how Stefano had caught him those years ago, how he hadn’t told anyone his secret, what he had done to Nicolò instead. He had finished with a shrug, there was nothing to be done about it now, and then had watched Yusuf’s face. His dark eyes, usually shining with warmth, had been furious, and when he spoke, his voice broke on three syllables.

“Nicolò”, and Yusuf, as careful as possible, had touched his cheek with just the tip of one of his fingers, as if a touch any less gentle might shatter him.

With a shaky sigh, Nicolò had leaned into the touch, his eyes fluttering closed, and then, he had found himself embraced by a pair of strong arms, arms which he allowed himself to melt into. They had sat like this for a while, Yusuf just holding him, and once they broke apart, Nicolò had weakly smiled.

“I, I just.. wanted you to know.”

Yusuf had nodded, his eyes taken over by fondness, before he whispered: “Grazie, Nicolò. For trusting me with this", the expression in his eyes once again changed, this time to something dark and dangerous, "And, if I could, I would find him, I’d hunt him to the ends of the earth and cut off each of his fingers, for ever _daring_ to-“

Nicolò’s smile was small but honest.

“I know that you would. But, I’m rather sure he died there, bleeding out somewhere in the dirt in front of the gates of Jerusalem. He’s gone, we’re not. That’s what matters.”

Yusuf had nodded, had kissed him, but a while later, he had excused himself to collect wood for a fire, and when he came back after a longer time than that usually took him, Nicolò had been able to see the redness of his eyes, the slight trembling of his hands balled into fists. He had chosen to comment on neither of those, and instead, wrapped his arms around Yusuf, softly kissed his neck, until the other man slowly relaxed.

Ever since then, not a day had passed for Nicolò without Yusuf’s sweet kisses, his gentle touches, but never anything more. And when he sat there in the inn, enjoying the feeling both of Yusuf close by his side and the spicy soup warming him from the inside, he wouldn’t have expected that this was about to change.

After they had finished their soup, Yusuf went back downstairs to take the empty bowls back to the owner of the inn, and came back with the man in tow, both of them carrying buckets of water that had been heated above the open fire in the kitchen. The bathtub in the corner of the room was small, and Nicolò’s knees ached from the way he had to bend them to sit inside of it, but when his body sunk into the hot water, all the discomfort was forgotten. He sighed, finally feeling not a hint of cold lingering in his joints anymore, and the comfort of the water and the melodic sound of Yusuf sharpening both of their swords nearly might have been enough to lull him to sleep. But he remembered that his companion surely wanted to take a bath too, surely before the water would turn cold, and therefore, he exited the bathtub, rubbing himself dry with the shirt he had worn before, and then walked the short way over to his bed.

The sound of Yusuf sharpening the swords had stopped, Nicolò belatedly realized, and when he looked over to the other man, he found himself being watched. Suddenly aware of his very nude body, Nicolò felt a slight blush creep up his neck, and when Yusuf’s eyes darkened at that, he found himself walking over to him. Nicolò stopped in front of Yusuf, who still did nothing but watch him, an expression in his eyes that Nicolò so far only had seen appearing when they had come to face an extraordinarily beautiful mosque or the charm of a breath-taking landscape stretching out in front of them. Now, Yusuf stared at Nicolò as if he was faced with a wonder, and their hands, their lips found each other before Nicolò could think about this expression any more.

Nicolò found himself laying on his back on the bed, Yusuf on top of him, kissing him like his life depended on it. In his desperate need to get closer to the other man, to allow him to kiss him even deeper, Nicolò wiggled around on the bed, and while doing so, his dick shifted against the rough fabric of Yusuf’s pants. He hissed at the contact, _want_ shooting through his veins like poison, and Yusuf stopped his kisses, leaned back to be able to look into his eyes.

“Please”, Nicolò gasped, and what exactly he was asking for, he couldn’t have said.

“Tell me what you want me to do”, Yusuf prompted, and Nicolò groaned in frustration.

“I want, please, please just touch me, show me-“, and words escaped him, for his thoughts were clouded in lust and nothing but Yusuf Yusuf _Yusuf_.

“Shh, I’ve got you”, and with that and a quick kiss to his lips, Yusuf started to touch him.

At first his fingers followed the line of his collarbones, then trailed around his nipples, which caused another gasp to fall from Nicolò’s lips, and when Yusuf’s lips joined his hands, Nicolò believed himself to be in paradise. His skin felt aflame wherever Yusuf touched him, and he thought this feeling couldn’t get better, until suddenly, while one of his hands still played with his nipples, Yusuf pressed the hint of a kiss to the tip of Nicolò’s dick. Nicolò felt his hips jerk upwards at that, desperate for more of that heavenly touch, and when he bowed his neck, he could see Yusuf’s head between his legs, smiling up at him. 

_“Yusuf”_ , and that one word was a prayer, spoken with the desperation of a man begging for a miracle.

“Yes?”, there was something cheeky in Yusuf’s tone of voice, but his eyes were serious when he asked: “Would you like me to continue?”

“Sì, Yusuf, per favore”, Nicolò begged, but then caught himself, his gaze searching the other man’s: “But, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Yusuf swallowed and leaned up, kissing Nicolò once again before whispering against his lips, their foreheads touching: “You won’t, tesoro, I promise you that you won’t.”

The pet name caused Nicolò to sigh deeply, and when Yusuf kissed down his body, this time ending his trail by properly wrapping his lips around his dick, Nicolò couldn’t stop the moans tumbling from his lips.

Nicolò thought he must lose his mind between Yusuf’s lips and his tongue moving so cleverly, and to make things even better, Yusuf gently grabbed Nicolò’s wrist, placing it in his own curls while continuing to worship him with his mouth. He was glad to have something to hold on to, to be able to bury his fingers in Yusuf’s hair when all too soon, his body utterly fell apart, and as Nicolò’s hips jerked upwards a final time, a hoarse shout left his lips, before his vision blacked out for a second. 

When Nicolò came back to himself, he found his body held by one of Yusuf’s arms, the other man’s face mere inches apart from his own. At seeing his eyes flutter open, a gentle smile spread on Yusuf’s lips, and when Nicolò caught a splash of white on those, he found himself giggling.

“Wow”, was all he could say for the moment, basking in the feeling of bliss while Yusuf looked at him as if he had hung the moon and stars into the sky.

“You’re feeling good?”, Yusuf asked, and how he even could question that, after making him feel _like that_ , it was behind Nicolò. While at the same time, the fact that he asked warmed him to his very core.

“Hmmm, more than good”, he snuggled closer, closing his eyes, and then added: “You were right, you know. When you said you’ve got a clever tongue.”

More than hearing it, Nicolò could feel Yusuf’s laughter vibrating against his body.

“Grazie”, he then whispered into Yusuf’s skin, being held a little tighter in return.

“It was my pleasure, hayati, my absolute pleasure. Everything for you.”

“Oh. I’ve wanted to ask you for a while already, what does it mean?”

“Hm?”

“The way you call me, hayati. What is it you’re saying with that?”

Yusuf leaned up a bit, looking into Nicolò’s face while his fingers absentmindedly played with his hair.

“It means that you’re mine. My everything. My life, my love, my heart, it all is yours, Nicolò di Genova. And if you’ll have me, I’ll be yours. Ti amo, Nico. Ti amerò per sempre.”

The words that might have become an answer to this got stuck in Nicolò’s throat, but when he captured Yusuf’s lips with his own, he knew that he was understood nevertheless. Nicolò not only had become aware of how much he loved Yusuf, he also knew, knew with an absolute conviction, how deeply he was loved and cherished in return. And maybe that was exactly the miracle that the Lord had called him to the Holy Land to experience, for Nicolò could imagine no wonder to be greater, to feel more heavenly than the love of the man in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this story, please be so kind to leave me a comment, it would mean a lot! ❤️ Especially since I'm a lil nervous posting this, since I've never before written something with a theme the like...
> 
> My title is from the song "Speak softly love" by Andy Williams 🎵


End file.
